Play Structure Acquired

So, a polebarn for the adults was not good enough, we had to add to the excitement and acquire a play structure for the kids too!  Craigslist strikes again.  Here is the picture from Saturday's listing.














A pair of rings, 3 swings, an 8 ft. bumpy slide, sand box, two ladders in need of repair, tree house (awning needs repair) with steering wheel and telescope, climbing rope, rope ladder in need of repair, monkey bars and a fireman pole.  Wow!

This is what it currently looks like:

Fortunately it was less than 6 miles away, almost all back roads, and it all arrived safely  (the trailer sides, ladder and slide all rode in the back of the truck).  We marked the post locations (with split tomatoes!) and the holes will be drilled tomorrow.  Stay tuned for updates.

Polebarn Construction Day 5

Another beautiful day and the big crew arrived at 8:15.  There were 6 guys, the gal and the 9-year old.  I was excited as I got out the service door and frame and the rolls of insulation.  It looked like a perfect day to finish off the barn and be ready for the concrete on Monday.  When I showed Jeff (the crew chief) where these items were, he informed me that they were unlikely to get to the roof because he did not have everyone from his crew present.  I was disappointed.

They got right to work, starting with the easy west side, then some of the east side.

About 10AM

About 10:40AM

1:45PM

1:45PM

Not too long after that they finished up the south gable end, tidied up a bit and were done by 2:30PM.  I guess they wanted an early start to the weekend.  What they did get done looks nice.

Notice the translucent panel along the top of the west side.

Very little got done on the north side.

They did weigh down the light pieces so they don't blow away.

This crew does not work on the weekend, so there will be no further progress until Monday.

Thursday Update

No activity today!  Bummer!  Duane finally called me back early this afternoon.  He decided this morning that there was too great a chance for rain, so he told the crew not to show up.  We may have gotten 3 drops of rain all day.  They could have gotten all of the steel up and been ready for concrete tomorrow.  Instead, the concrete will be delayed three days.  Marlene and I are both bummed.

That said, we are both very pleased with how well the barn looks so far.  The walls are nice and straight.  We can't wait to start emptying the garage shhhtuff into it.

Polebarn Construction Day 3

Wednesday was a beautiful day, warm but not too hot nor humid.  The crew arrived early and often.  We had 7 men, a woman and one of the guy's nine year-old nephew.  They got right to work sawing off the posts even with the top of the truss carriers, screwing the truss carriers to the posts (previously they had just been nailed in place) and marking the trusses for purlin placement.  Eventually they were ready to start placing the trusses.

The end trusses were up a little before 10AM.

How do they get the trusses up there?  First one end...

then the other.  Then a guy would flip the right side up with a "pickle stick".

Putting up some of the steel trim.

Having a big crew, they could do that while the rafters were being installed.

 By the end of the day, it looked like a real building.

Looking from the north to the south.

Looking from the southwest to the northeast.

Who is that with a handful of tomatoes?

Lean-to rafters.  Beautiful!

The next morning.

Looks purdy in the sunshine.

Can't wait until they get the steel up today and the concrete poured on Friday.

Polebarn Construction Day 2

The crew did not show up until after noon, likely as a protest to me paying the crew with a check made out to the company instead of to the crew chief personally.  I did this on the advice of my brother-in-law, Mike, who has built many a polebarn back when he had a construction company.  Mike says that if I paid the crew directly, then I am acting as the general contractor and am liable for their workers comp and other payments.  They did put in a good half day's work adding the truss carriers and girts.

This is how it looked at the end of the day.

The lines of posts were nice and straight at ground-level, but not so much at the tops of the posts.  I expect when the trusses and rafters are added, the tops will get straightened out.

Barn Construction Begins

The crew arrived Monday mid-morning and got right to work.  I was surprised at how few of the details that Duane (co-owner of Artfully Crafted Polebarns http://www.artfullycraftedpolebarns.net/index.html) had communicated to Jeff (our crew chief).  I mentioned as many as I could remember.

The lines of posts are carefully laid out with red string.  (Click on any picture to see more detail.)

I can't believe they are going to try to dig the holes by hand!  Turns out they were just marking the locations.

The skid steer with large auger arrived and did a marvellous job, even in our hard, dry, baked clay.

A concrete pad was placed in the bottom of each hole.

I wish they had remembered to bring a level!

No worries, by day's end they were all vertical.

Polebarn Materials Delivered

Time to rejuvenate the blog, even if just briefly.  It has been almost 2 years since there have been any postings and probably 3 or 4 years since I have posted.  I have retitled the blog since it is no longer our new house and we our doing more with the farming aspect than the house these days.

The current excitement is that our much delayed barn is about to become a reality.  Last Friday the materials were delivered.  How ironic that after weeks and weeks of little to no rain, the 40 hours before we got significant rain.  The semi and fork lift sank in a bit, but did not leave too many ruts.

Truck arrives, discussing unloading strategy and placement of piles.

Handy forklift, here unloading the steel.  I'm not jealous.  I'm not jealous.

 I was surprised at how much the trusses flexed even though they were all banded together.

A couple loads of lumber are off-loaded next.

The boards are not too bad looking, some tree centers but not too much bark.

Now we just need the crew to show up Monday and get to work!

Nearly Livable

Guest Blogger Extreme Notification. Peter here.

So the parents came home early from vacation(thank god, it is horribly isolated up here) and the bathroom is under construction as I type this very sentence. Though, with every project the snags are abounding, today's special is served cold and under cooked with a side of Where the heck is the vent piping? oh yeah, it wasn't installed comeback when it is in season. It is being taken care of and doors are being sanded and stained. I don't want to say anything too soon, but we very well may be on the verge of a livable space, but shhhh too loud and the dream will vanish.

Though to alleviate stress in the house I have taken upon the culinary arts and have made dinner the folks. This was night one of many and my first attempt at shrimp and mousse.

mmm...

even later summer post

Warning: Guest Blogger Alert. Heather here.
Well a month has passed. I've been in Toronto and Grand Rapids. The folks have been at the Farm. Let's see what's happened in the intervening time.
The flowers are still blooming.And wonder and enjoyment of the flowers is still blooming as well.Some sort of bug enjoys this particular tree. What evildoer is it? Only the master gardener knows....Inside the house things are similarly invigorating. There is now tile and a door in the downstairs bathroom. This blogger hopes the plumber has installed the toilet by the time this post is up.The progress, however, seems to have angered the house which threatened to eat Dad as he worked on the ceiling in the basement bedroom. Pete attempted to help the situation. Both were too near the maw for my taste.

Since Pete was spared the fate, I was forced to assume that the ceiling appreciated his Michigan shirt but didn't like dad's political shirt. Mom, fearing neurotoxin, wore all the appropriate safety gear.

She was mistaken for a terrorist just once...well...only by dad. But if he would stop arguing she wouldn't need to try to look scary. Eventually the ceiling was finished!But not until shortly after the carpet was installed!!Here Pete enjoys the floor Hoff-style. All he needs is some BK and he could end up in YouTube hell too.

All joking aside, the basement bathroom and bedroom look fabulous and will look even more fabulous with furnishings and working plumbing. The folks should be proud. And Pete should be happy because now, not only does he have the QUIETEST room in the house, but he doesn't have to live in his birthday hockey bag anymore.

Happy first day of Fall, y'all. Heather out.